Signs and Wonders at Uḥud

Among the miracles that occurred in the Battle of Uḥud, one is the eye of Qatādah — mentioned as a miracle of the Battle of Badr as well, and there is a difference of opinion among the scholars over where it happened; some of them say it occurred in the Battle of Uḥud, so it can be attributed to the Battle of Uḥud as one of its miracles.

Another concerns Ubayy ibn Khalaf, one of the leaders of Quraysh, one of the mushrikīn, one of the worst enemies of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Ubayy ibn Khalaf used to say, "I am going to kill Muḥammad, I am going to kill Muḥammad." When that news reached the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he said, "No — I will kill him." So in the Battle of Uḥud, Ubayy ibn Khalaf — who used to feed his horse special food, corn and special feed, saying, "I am going to kill Muḥammad on you" — charged at the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on his horse. The Companions wanted to volunteer and stop his attack on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not allow them; he said, "No, leave him." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) picked up a spear and shook it in his hand, and the narrator said that the Companions flew away when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) shook the spear, the way flies would fly off the back of a camel — it was such a violent shaking of that spear. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) threw it at Ubayy ibn Khalaf, who was covered in armour — only his eyes could be seen — but there was a small opening between the helmet and the armour on his neck, and the spear struck him right there, and reached his skin, but could not go through, because of the steel armour beneath. Ubayy ibn Khalaf fell from his horse, and went back running to his people, bellowing like a bull, screaming. They told him, "What is wrong with you?" He said, "Muḥammad killed me." So they uncovered him, and they did not see any injury on his neck — all that had happened was some blood clotting because of the impact, but there was no injury, there was no bleeding, there was nothing. So they told him, "There is nothing wrong with you — why are you so terrified?" He said, "Because Muḥammad told me that he would kill me, so if he did nothing but spit on me, I would die." Subḥānallāh — such was their certainty in whatever the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would say. In another narration he said that if the pain he was suffering were distributed among all the people of Makkah, it would be sufficient to kill them, and very shortly after, he died. This is a miracle of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), because he prophesied that he would kill Ubayy ibn Khalaf, and it happened. This is the only person known for certain to have been killed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with his own hand — he could have killed many others in battles, but their names are not known; this is the only one whose name is known. And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says, and this is in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, "In Allah's cause, the worst of men is the man whom a messenger of Allah kills."

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar said that one night, while he was travelling in the same place where Ubayy ibn Khalaf was killed, he suddenly saw flames of fire, and then he saw a man being dragged in chains, asking for water, and the response was, "Do not provide him with any water — this is a man who was killed by the messenger of Allah."^* So ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar was able to see the torment of Ubayy ibn Khalaf, and it happens that some men are able to see either the punishment of the disbelievers or the pleasure given to the Muslims — that could happen in dreams, or it could happen actually in front of a person, as happened here with ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, and as happened with the aunt of ʿAṭṭāf ibn Khālid, whose greeting the martyrs answered. That is something of the unseen, but Allah, the Almighty and Glorious, brings it into the physical world, even though it belongs to the other world; Allah, the Almighty and Glorious, reveals that at times to His servants, and these can be counted as karāmāt, both for this woman and for ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him.